News of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs's death began to spread on Sina Weibo, China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service, almost immediately after it was confirmed on Apple's website.

　　苹果公司共同创始人乔布斯去世，这个消息几乎是在得到苹果网站证实的同时，就开始在中国高人气的新浪微博上流传开来。

　　Among the first to comment was Kai-Fu Lee, the former head of Google China. “Bon voyage, Master Jobs,” Mr. Lee wrote on his verified Weibo account. “Your products changed the world and your thinking influenced a generation.”

　　曾为谷歌中国(Google China)掌门人的李开复是最先评论此事的人之一。他在经过认证的微博账户中说：“乔帮主一路走好，你的产品改变了世界，你的思想影响了一代人。”

　　Thousands of Weibo users echoed Mr. Lee in mourning Mr. Jobs, littering the site with innumerable burning candle icons, while thousands more hopefully wondered whether the news was just another Chinese Internet rumor gone wild. “I really hope this is fake,” wrote Weibo user Astro_boy.

　　成千上万名微博用户与李开复一起悼念乔布斯，新浪微博页面上满是点亮的小蜡烛图标，还有数千人满怀希望地怀疑这则消息是否只是又一次失控的中国互联网谣言。微博用户Astro boy写道，我真希望这是假的。

　　“Jobs is gone,” wrote another user going by the handle Buting Zheteng. “This is the first time a foreigner's death has been hard for me to take.”

　　名为“不停折腾”的微博用户写道：“乔布斯走了，这是第一个让我心里感到不好受的外国人。”

　　In a post retweeted more than 2,000 times, user Wang Weijia wrote: “He was a true son of Silicon Valley. If Silicon Valley could lower its flag to half-mast for only one person, it should be Steve Jobs.”

　　新浪微博认证用户王维嘉写道：“他是真正硅谷的儿子。如果硅谷只为一个人下半旗，就应该是乔布斯。”这条微博被转发了4000多次。

　　Others seized on the Apple founders' death to register their disappointment with the company's latest offering: “No doubt he saw the iPhone 4S and died out of anger,” quipped user MoKayan. The reaction was far from unanimous, however. “Buy an iPhone4S to salute Jobs, for Steve!” wrote user PhilipKuai.

　　也有人抓住苹果创始人去世的机会表达自己对苹果公司最新产品的不满。微博用户“MoKayan”调侃说，他肯定是看到iPhone 4S然后被气死的。不过这并非人们的普遍反响。用户PhilipKuai蒯佳祺说：“买一个iPhone4S向乔布斯致敬，for Steve！”

　　Still others urged Apple to push out a line of affordable iPhones and iPads so more people can have access to the products. “This is the best way to remember Steve Jobs,” wrote WaterCube.

　　还有人敦促苹果推出一系列低价iPhone和iPad，让更多的人能够用上苹果产品。“WaterCube”说：“这是对乔布斯最好的纪念。”

　　Apple products have soared in popularity among increasingly affluent Chinese consumers. Demand for white iPhones sparked a scuffle outside the Beijing Apple Store in Sanlitun earlier this year, resulting in a broken window and closing the store for several hours.

　　在越来越有钱的中国消费者中，苹果产品的流行程度一直飙升。今年早些时候在北京三里屯苹果专卖店，对白色iPhone的需求引发混战，导致商店玻璃被打破，并停业几个小时。

　　In the fiscal third quarter ended June 25, Apple said it sold $3.8 billion in products in greater China, which includes Hong Kong, a more than sixfold increase from a year earlier. Apple opened new stores in Hong Kong and in Shanghai last month.

　　在截至6月25日的第三财季，苹果宣布在包括香港的大中华区实现销售收入38亿美元，较上年同期增长六倍以上。苹果上个月在香港和上海新开了门店。